I regularly play blackjack on HAL. On my last cruise, they had a new gimmick at the blackjack tables called “signature pairs”. You make a side bet, and win if dealt a pair on your first two cards. The payoff is:

Pair of different colors: 5 to 1Same color: 10 to 1Suited pair: 25 to 1 Ace of clubs pair: 50 to 1

This is a sucker bet. Compared to the odds, the payoff is awful. Forget this gimmick and just play blackjack.

On my last two HAL cruises, it looks like “signature pairs” is a good moneymaker for the casino. A lot of blackjack players like this game, as it is more popular than the previous gimmick at the blackjack tables called the “wheel of madness”. (I think that players didn’t trust the wheel, but they are more comfortable seeing cards dealt from the shoe.)

There is an error in my original post. The 50 to 1 payout is for any suited pair of aces. This doesn’t affect my other comments. The house take on this game is 8.6%, a really bad bet for a table game.